George Andrew Cables is a jazz pianist, born November 14, 1944 in New York City. He has played with Art Blakey, Sonny Rollins, Art Pepper, and others. He is most noted for his collaborations and as a sideman. Jazz is an original American musical art form originating around the early 1920s in New Orleans, rooted in Western music technique and theory, and is marked by the profound cultural contributions of African Americans. ... A pianist is a person who plays the piano. ... November 14 is the 318th day of the year (319th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 47 days remaining. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Nickname: The Big Apple Official website: City of New York Government Counties (Boroughs) Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Geographical characteristics Area Total 468. ... Arthur (Art) Blakey, also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, ( October 11, 1919 - October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. ... An early Rollins picture graces the cover of Volume One Theodore Walter (Sonny) Rollins (born September 7, 1930 in New York City) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist. ... Arthur Edward Pepper, Jr. ...

Biography

When Cables was going to school in New York City, he used to walk the streets at night, taking in the cosmopolitan sights and sounds, mentally recording his encounters with "so many different kinds of people." In his musical career as well, Cables has prowled sidestreets and main thoroughfares in relative anonymity, absorbing countless influences into his personal style. Nickname: The Big Apple Official website: City of New York Government Counties (Boroughs) Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Geographical characteristics Area Total 468. ...

Cables was classically trained as a youth, and when he started at the "Fame"-worthy New York High School of Performing Arts, he admittedly "didn't know anything about jazz." But he was soon smitten with the potential for freedom of expression he heard in jazz. The young Cables was impressed by such keyboardists as Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea, but, as he points out, "I never really listened to pianists when I was coming up. I would probably say I've been more influenced by Miles or Trane and their whole bands rather than by any single pianist. The concept of the music is more important than listening to somebody's chops, somebody's technique, The Way Miles' band held together, it was just like magic. You were transported to another world." Fame is a movie directed by Alan Parker which was released in 1980. ... The Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts is located near the Juilliard School in the Lincoln Center district of Manhattan, on Amsterdam Avenue between 65th Street and 64th Street. ... Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is a jazz pianist and composer from Chicago, Illinois, USA. Hancock is one of jazz musics most important and influential pianists and composers. ... Chick Corea on the cover of sheet music book Chick Corea Collection Armando Anthony Chick Corea (born June 12, 1941) is an American jazz pianist/keyboardist and composer. ... Davis 1959 album Kind of Blue, likely the best-selling jazz album ever. ... John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. ...

Cables attended Mannes College of Music for two years, and by 1964 he was playing in a band called The Jazz Samaritans which included such rising stars as Billy Cobham, Lenny White, and Clint Houston. Gigs around New York at the Top of the Gate, Slugs, and other clubs attracted attention to Cables' versatility and before long he had recorded with tenor saxophonist Paul Jeffrey, played on Max Roach's "Lift Every Voice and Sing," and earned a brief 1969 tenure at the piano bench with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. The Mannes College of Music is a music school located in New York City, in the Upper West Side of Manhattan. ... For the Nintendo 64 emulator, see 1964 (Emulator). ... Billy Cobham, born May 16, 1944 in Panama, is one of the worlds best and most influential drummers, best known for his jazz fusion in the 1970s, with John McLaughlins Mahavishnu Orchestra, where he pioneered a powerful style of drumming with rock and funk influences. ... Lenny White (born 1949) is a great American jazz-rock drummer, who is most famous for participating as one of the multiple drummers on Miles Daviss Bitches Brew sessions, and making himself well known as a member of Chick Coreas Return To Forever band. ... Maxwell Lemuel Roach (born January 10, 1924-) is a jazz drummer and composer. ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... Arthur (Art) Blakey, also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, ( October 11, 1919 - October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. ...

A 1969 tour with tenor titan Sonny Rollins took Cables to the West Coast. By 1971 he became a significant figure in the jazz scenes of Los Angeles, where he first resided, and San Francisco, where he also lived. Collaborations and recordings with tenor saxophonists Rollins ("Next Album:) and Joe Henderson, trumpeters Freddie Hubbard and Woody Shaw ("Blackstone Legacy"), and vibist Bobby Hutcherson made Cables' wide-ranging keyboard skills, often on electric piano, amply evident. Demand for his sensitive accompaniment increased and by the end of the 1970s, Cables was garnering a reputation as everyone's favorite sideman. An early Rollins picture graces the cover of Volume One Theodore Walter (Sonny) Rollins (born September 7, 1930 in New York City) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist. ... Joe Henderson (April 24, 1937 - June 30, 2001) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. ... Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (born April 7, 1938, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA) is an American jazz trumpeter. ... Woody Herman Shaw II (December 24, 1944 – May 10, 1989) was an American trumpeter and flugelhorn player. ... Bobby Hutcherson (born January 27, 1941 in Los Angeles) is a jazz vibraphone and marimba player. ...

Perhaps the most pivotal turn came when hard bop legend Dexter Gordon invited Cables into his quartet in 1977. The two years he spent with the reappreciated tenor giant ignited Cables's passion for the acoustic piano and rimmersed him in the bebop vocabulary. "I don't feel that one should be stuck in the mud playing the same old stuff all the time, trying to prove that this music is valid," Cables says. "We don't need to prove anything. But I think you really have to be responsive to your heritage and then go on and find your own voice." Hard bop is an extension of bebop (bop) music which incorporates influences from rhythm and blues, gospel music, and blues, especially in the saxophone and piano playing. ... Dexter Gordon Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 - April 25, 1990) was an American tenor saxophone musician. ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ...

The longest standing relationship Cables developed in the late seventies was with alto saxophonist Art Pepper. Cables, who Pepper called "Mr. Beautiful," became Art's favorite pianist, appearing on many quartet dates for Contemporary and Galaxy, and joining Art for the extraordinary duet album, Goin' Home, that would be Pepper's final recording session. "I've been able to play with some of the greatest musicians in the world," Cables says, ..but it's funny, if you're not seen as a bandleader, doing the same thing a lot of times, it's easy to wonder, `Well, who are you really? What do you really feel?' And sometimes I have to ask myself that, because every time I play with somebody different I have to put on a different hat." Arthur Edward Pepper, Jr. ...

George has performed and recorded with some of the greatest jazz musicians of his time, including: Joe Henderson, Roy Haynes, Max Roach, Art Blakey, Sonny Rollins, Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, Sarah Vaughn, Tony Williams, Bobby Hutcherson and Dizzy Gillespie. Sarah Vaughan (March 27, 1924 - April 3, 1990) is considered by some to be one of the greatest female jazz singers in the history of the genre, along with Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald. ... Tony Williams (December 12, 1945 - February 23, 1997) was an American jazz drummer. ... Dizzy Gillespie in 1955 John Birks Dizzy Gillespie (October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was born in Cheraw, South Carolina. ...

George Cables has emerged as a major voice in modern jazz. He is currently performing and recording as a soloist, with trio and larger ensembles, and as a clinician in college jazz programs. In addition to composing and arranging for his own albums, George Cables has contributed to recordings by many other jazz performers. He is noted for his fresh interpretations of classic compositions, and for his innovative style of writing.

External links

• Cables' Official Site
• BBC Radio 2